"I'll Give You The Sun" by Jandy Nelson

 Nelson, J. (2014). I'll give you the sun. New York, NY: Dial Books.

Jude and Noah are twins, look nothing alike though, but have an undeniable connection that only twins can have. Both are unique in their own ways: Noah seeps art from his pores, and Jude seems to breath air into everything and everyone she comes into contact with, but they see each other as competition nonetheless. It is through their eyes, the novel is divided into chapters narrated by both siblings, that we see how their lives and their relationship came apart. Through their narrations we see how this one family has gone through hell and back, and we see how fate brings them back together again in the end. 

What can I say about "I'll Give You The Sun" except that it did give me just that. Throughout the novel we hear from 13-year-old Noah and 16-year-old Jude and just hearing how they complete each other gives you goosebumps. It is written beautifully, and I believe that the target audience would be young adults 14 and up because of the topics discussed such as suicide, divorce, individuality, sex, and homosexuality. It is a wonderful novel to bring in topics such as being proud of who you are and accepting what makes you and individual. 

I rate this book a 5 out of 5 stars!

It's Perfectly Normal by Robie H. Harris and Michael Emberley

 Harris, R. H., & Emberley, M. (2014). It's perfectly normal: Changing bodies, growing up, sex, and   

             sexual health. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. 

In It's Perfectly Normal, we are shown how bodies change through puberty and also includes information about birth and sexual health. The book is divided into six categories: What Is Sex?, Our Bodies, Puberty, Families and Babies, Decisions, and Staying Healthy. Throughout each section, Harris and Emberley describe how both males and females cope with their changing bodies, and also give facts about the process of our bodies changing. Such facts include scientific names and their meanings, Latin roots that came to be known words, and medical information. In addition to these explanations, the book includes visuals to accompany the facts as well as an index at the end. 

The intended audience are children starting at the age of 8-10 and anyone older as well. This book would be a good accompanying text in Health and Science classes as they do discuss the changes in human bodies. Teachers and educators would find this valuable because the information is given in kid-friendly language while still remaining respectful to different ideas and world views. I loved how they also included sensitive topics such as abortion and sexual abuse in order to allow students to know that there is help whenever needed. 

I rated this book a 4 out of 5 stars!

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

 Andrews, J. (2015). Me and Earl and the dying girl: A novel. New York, NY: Amulet Books.

Greg Gaines enjoys going through school being unnoticed by others; he prefers to hide out in one of his teacher's office with his friend and co-director Earl. He and Earl make films, not necessarily good ones, but films nonetheless that are uniquely weird and different. By starting off his senior year this well something was bound to go bad. Greg's kind of ex-girlfriend Rachel has been diagnosed with leukemia and may be dying soon. Greg's mom has asked him to hang out with her, so now it is just him and Earl and Rachel trying to survive their senior year. In the end, Greg finds out that he does have some potential as a film-maker, but unfortunately Earl has abandoned the profession and sadly Rachel passes away. It is through their friendship that this realization is made. 

This book has been an interesting one in the sense that I do see young adults, mainly high-school students, reading this book and finding it relatable in some aspects. It does have themes of individuality and being true to yourself, so this would be a great book to share with students who are still finding out who they are. As a teacher, you can also use excerpts of the book as an example of a script just like we would with Walter Dean Myers' Monster. 

I rate this book a 4 out of 5 stars!

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

 Woodson, J. (2014). Brown girl dreaming. New York, NY: Nancy Paulsen Books.

In Jacqueline Woodson's Brown Girl Dreaming we are shown the events that helped create the woman this great author came to be. It is an autobiographical text written in different poetic forms; Woodson's autobiography starts off with a family tree, and is divided into 5 sections: her birth, her life in South Carolina, her life in New York City, what happened to her family, and finally what inspired her to dream big! After the sections her book includes an author's note, her thanks to individuals, and even some of her family photos. 

I enjoyed reading her autobiography because it was rich in detail and you could practically smell the summer of 1963 come to life. I believe teachers would be able to use her autobiography to teach poetry, non-fiction texts, point-of-view, figurative language, and interweave American History in. The students would be able to use the information given in this book to help them understand the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, and teachers would be able to introduce other American poets such as Langston Hughes into the mix. 

I rate this book a 5 out of 5 stars!

Looking for Alaska by John Green

 Green, J. (2005). Looking for Alaska. New York, NY: Dutton Books.

 Miles is obsessed with learning the last words said by famous people and with reading the biographies of writers. He has left his parents in Florida so that he can go to boarding school, the one his dad has gone to as well. His parents warn him to behave and do well, but little does he know what he is in store for. His roommate Chip, a.k.a The Colonel, is friends with an interesting group of people; one of those people is the amazingly charming and beautiful Alaska. Alaska has a larger than life personality that makes it hard for Miles not to fall in love with her. Once he has the chance to finally kiss Alaska and truly accept that he loves her, it is all taken away: Alaska dies. Now he and his friends are in the search for the truth behind her death in the hopes that they can get some closer.

The major strengths of this book is that it has a lot of themes and topics that can be discussed with students, particularly high school students, such as drug an alcohol use, friendships, death, suicide, parent-child relationships, and dating. As I was reading I went through a lot of emotions because the author included humor, drama, love, and death, so it felt like being on a rollercoaster that I would totally ride again.

I rate this book a 5 out of 5 stars!